Wildlife Callers

An early season predator calling trip south of Phoenix ends with an eerie find – perhaps a crime scene?

On Saturday August 15^th, my calling partner, Josh, and I went out predator hunting to compete against two buddies (Scott & Andrew) on a little coyote calling competition. Unfortunately we lost the competition, but I did come across a very rare find on one stand.

We were calling an area that I go to quite often just south of Phoenix that borders an Indian reservation. Around 9:00 when we were getting out of our truck to head to our sixth calling stand, when we were stopped by a Border Patrol Agent. He told us he had recently made a large drug bust this past week right down the road, and said to watch out because a lot of illegal aliens are carrying firearms while smuggling drugs. On the way in to our stand I made a comment to Josh along the lines of, “makes you think twice about heading in there” (the thick brush). It was kind of ironic, especially after stumbling upon this rare find.

We walked into the area we wanted to call along the canal with thick brush edging the dirt road along the canal. Josh had already setup the caller on the road and I walked into the brush to find a place to sit down with good shooting lanes. When I turned the corner around a bush I spotted a human skull about 10 feet away. I think I was in shock because I turned around and sat down and waited for Josh to begin calling. After about ten minutes of calling we ended the stand and I walked over to Josh to tell him what I had found. We both headed back to where the skull was, and Josh noticed a couple pieces of vertebrae lying near the skull. We didn’t see any other remains, but we also didn’t make an effort to go search. The skull had a strong odor to it, and I’m sure scavengers have been well at it for awhile.

We called the local sheriffs dept. and I gave them directions to where the skull was located. A deputy called me back a couple hours later and notified me that they had located the skull.

Last November my hunting partner and I were in this exact same spot taking pictures of a coyote I killed that day. The crazy thing is I was out here last month and walked right down the road past this spot without any knowledge of it being there.

Here are a few pictures of my rare find that I hope to never come across again.

Best Regards,

Levi Adamson